UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Learning to teach realistic mathematics in Vietnam Nguyen, T. Publication date 2005 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Nguyen, T. Learning to teach realistic mathematics in Vietnam. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).
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UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.nl) Download date:28 Feb 2024 LEARNING TO TEACH REALISTIC MATHEMATICS IN VIETNAM Design : Pierre Kemmers Printed by PrintPartner Ipskamp B., Amsterdam This publication was supported by grants from the NUFFIC MHO 4 Project. LEARNING TO TEACH REALISTIC MATHEMATICS IN VIETNAM ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Prof. van der Heijden ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Aula der Universiteit op woensdag 21 december 2005, te 10.00 uur door Nguyen Thanh Thuy geboren te Cantho, Vietnam Promotiecommissie Promotores: Prof. van Weert Prof.
Goedhart Co-promotor: Mw. Dekker Overige leden: Prof. Ellermeijer Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1 Introduction of Vietnam 1 2 Vietnamese education 3 3 Vietnamese teacher education 9 4 Introduction of the research 12 5 Introduction to this thesis 15 Chapter 2: Dimensions of learning and Realistic Mathematics Educa- 17 tion 1 Dimensions of learning 17 2 Realistic Mathematics Education 25 Chapter 3: Theoretical framework for learning to teach 37 1 Different perspectives on reflection 37 2 Schön’s conception of reflection 38 3 Realistic Teacher Education 47 4 Conceptual framework for learning to teach 51 Chapter 4: Research Plan and Methodology 57 1 Research stance 57 2 Research questions 57 3 Research approach 58 4 Outline of educational design 60 Chapter 5: Student teachers’ development during the methods course 71 1 Sub-research questions in the methods course 71 2 Set-up of the methods course 71 3 Findings 75 4 Conclusions and discussion 98 Chapter 6: Student teachers’ development during the microteaching 101 course 1 Sub-research questions in the microteaching course 101 2 Set-up of the microteaching course 101 3 Findings 102 4 Conclusions and discussion 139 Chapter 7: Student teachers’ development during practicum 143 1 Sub-research questions in practicum 143 2 The context of practicum 143 3 Research method 143 4 Findings 148 5 Conclusions and discussion 179 Chapter 8: Conclusions and discussion 183 1 Context of the research 183 2 Design principles 185 3 Main findings and conclusions 185 4 Reflection on the research 190 5 Recommendations 193 6 Discussion of the research method 195 7 Questions for further research 199 References 201 Appendices 211 Summary in Dutch 245 Acknowledgements 253 Curriculum Vitae 259 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces the context of the research. The research is aimed at intro- ducing a student-centered approach as a solution to problems of Vietnamese mathe- matics education.
Thus, it is tied to current reforms of mathematics education in Vietnam, which have been carried out since 1996. Sections of the chapter will focus on introducing the social and historical context of Vietnam as well as the current situations and problems of Vietnamese mathematics and teacher education. After that, the origin of the research will be presented. 1 INTRODUCTION OF VIETNAM 1.1 Geography The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is situated near the center of the Southeast Asian region.
The north of Vietnam adjoins China and its west adjoins the Indian subcon- tinent. Its slender S-shape stretches along the Pacific coast (see Figure 1. Accord- ing to The World Fact book (2005), the land area is 329,560 square kilometers. Vietnam has a population of approximately 80 million (July, 2001).
Because of its shape Vietnam is topographically divided into three parts: the north, the middle and the south. Its capital is Hanoi, which is located at the center of the north. Vietnam is one of the poorest countries in the region, with a per capita GNP in 2003 of USD 457, composed of agriculture 24%, industry 37% and services 39% (estimation 2001).2 Historical context of Vietnam Vietnam has a long history that is full of wars against Chinese, French and Ameri- can invaders. In 179 BC the Chinese conquered Vietnam and put the country under their domination for over 1,000-year until the 10th century.
The French reigned Vietnam from 1858. In 1954, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese defeated the French, at Dien Bien Phu. From that time the domination of French colonialism ended and a new phase in the history of Vietnam began. After that event, under the provisions of the Geneva Agreements, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two zones, North and South, at the 17th parallel at Quang Tri province in the middle of Vietnam.
The North of Vietnam was led by the Viet- 2 CHAPTER 1 namese Communist Party and entered a period of transition to socialism with the help of Russia and other socialist countries.1: The map of Vietnam (University of Texas Libraries, 2001) The South of Vietnam was governed by a republican regime controlled by the United States. Under the leadership of “Uncle Ho” and the Communist Party of INTRODUCTION 3 Vietnam, the North supported the uprisings that broke out in various places in the South of Vietnam against US domination and liberation of the South started in 1956 and ended with the victory on the 30th of April 1975. Vietnam became a united and independent country from that day until now. Yet, the victory won in the war in itself cannot be grounds for the development of the country.
The disastrous consequences of the long wars made Vietnam a very poor country. During the 30-years war, millions of Vietnamese people had been killed, causing Vietnamese people untold suffering and mourning. Both the North and the South were heavily destroyed by bombs. Because of the 30 year separation of the country, where the political points of view of people in the north and south were too different, it has been rather difficult for Vietnamese people in the two zones to unite.
Besides, because the situation in the country after the war ended was not stable, the Vietnamese government applied a “closed door” policy in communi- cation with capitalist countries. Since 1986, Vietnam has embarked upon a process of comprehensive renova- tion, a turning point in the construction and development of the country. "Renova- tion and open door" is the trend of the new period. It is the "renovation and open door" line that aroused the great potential of the country, encouraging individual initiatives and creating dynamics in economic activities.
In order to integrate into the world, Vietnam needs to upgrade national education, which has had a reputation of being too traditional and old fashioned. In the next sections, Vietnamese education and educational reform will be presented. The characteristics and challenges of Vietnamese education will be analyzed. 2 VIETNAMESE EDUCATION In 4000 years of its history, the Chinese have dominated Vietnam for over 1000 years, the French for over 100 years, and in recent times, the North was influenced by Russia and the South was controlled by the US for 30 years.
As a result, charac- teristics of the Vietnamese education system strongly reflect those of these coun- tries.1 Education system in Vietnam The national education system is defined in the National Education Law No. According to this law, Vietnamese education has been categorized in four systems: Pre-school Education, Basic Education, Professional Education and Higher Education. x Pre-school Education Pre-school education includes kindergarten and day-care centers for children from 3 months to six years old. x Basic Education The Vietnamese basic education system follows a 5-4-3 structure, which consists of: Primary school level (5 years): From Grade 1 to Grade 5 (ages 7 – 12) Secondary school level (4 years): From Grade 6 to Grade 9 (ages 12 – 15) 4 CHAPTER 1 Upper secondary school (or high school) level (3 years): From Grade 10 to Grade 12 (ages 15 – 18) x Professional Education Students who finish secondary or upper secondary education can move on to profes- sional schools for either a two years or four years program for professional or tech- nical training x Higher Education Higher Education can be divided into three levels: a four-year undergraduate level (Bachelor program), a two-year Master’s level (Master program) and a four-year doctorate level (PhD program).
Secondary teacher education falls under the four- year undergraduate level.2 Characteristics of Vietnamese education During 1000 years of domination by the Chinese, Vietnamese people had to learn about Chinese literature, which reflected the philosophy of Confucianism. “Confu- cius (551-479 BC), the founder of Confucianism has been seen as the most eminent philosopher of the Chinese people and is popularly known around the world” (Le, 2001, p. Confucianism aims to reform society through educating individuals; in order to build up “an ideal social order through cultivating ideal ways of life and full development of the personality of the individual” (Jingpan, 1990, p. Individual development, together with an ideal social order, were the two most important themes in Confucianism (Jingpan, 1990; Duong, 2002).
To contribute to the full development of individuals, including the Confucian emphasis on the moral life of men, four principles for educating an individual were introduced, which are (Jing- pan, 1990): 1) Jen (Love) 2) Li (The rules of Proper Conduct) 3) Hsiao (Filial Piety) 4) Chung Yung (The Doctrine of Mean) Jen should be understood as the foundation by which human action is decided. Jen holds the greatest contribution of Confucius where it teaches one how to behave in order to have a good relationship with others. Li introduces “the standard of all human action including individual activities and operation of a government” (Le, 2001, p. Hsiao is about how to treat the previous generations (parents, grand parents and the older relatives).
Chung Yung suggests a harmony within human emotions, purposes and ideas according to Jen, Li, Hsioa and society order. Confu- cianism suggested a society order that is Quan-Su-Phu [King-Teacher-Father]. This order has become a popular motto in moral education and has strongly dominated countries with this Confucian heritage, such as Vietnam (Duong, 2002). For thousands of years, Vietnamese teachers were considered the leading class, second only to the King and more respected than students’ parents.
Teachers were the moral and scholarly models. There is a Vietnamese proverb that has become the most important pedagogic principle in Vietnamese schools for many years, that is “Khong Thay do may lam nen” (“None can achieve without the instruction of the INTRODUCTION 5 teacher”). Therefore, teachers themselves, students and their parents approve the teachers’ dominant place in the classroom. This model role of teachers can be seen even today in Vietnam.
That model imposes both positive and negative influences on Vietnamese students’ attitudes and perceptions about learning (Le, 2001). The positive influence on students’ perception about learning is that students expect to become moral and scholarly people like their teachers. This expectation fosters students’ fondness of learning and understanding (Le, 2001; Duong, 2002). The negative influence of this relationship is that it gives teachers a dominant position in their classroom.
This dominancy may cause some negative effects on students’ attitude about learning. “Students are expected by their family and them- selves to get the ‘right words’ from their teachers in class” (Le, 2001, p.